[Maestro]

Originally Posted by PINeely

This blows my mind as well. Anyone who has ever gone camping knows that it takes days for a fire to completely burn out because the ash acts as an insulator. The garbage men won't even pick up a trash can that has ash in it because so many people screw this up.

Those metal trash cans are awesome for ash removal but even then I just use the can to transfer the ash to the fire pit outside.

I actually seen a garbage truck on fire doing down the road, they speculated someone put ashes in the trash can or someone threw out rags soaked in paint thinner which is the other classic reason someone catches their garage on fire.

[deeLow]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Got one in the kitchen and one in the garage. Grill caught on fire last year and I put it out single-handedly. Had to get a new one for kitchen.

My grill last year caught fire too. Combination of too much grease and too high of a heat lit that shit up in 10 seconds when I went inside to piss.

My daughter was swimming in the pool 5 feet away, and the grill was nearly right up against the deck. I saw smoke pouring out as I was leaving the bathroom and ran outside. Once I opened the top massive flames came out and I immediately panicked and started running in circles.

Shut off the propane at the tank and pulled the grill nearly up against the pool. I just was blowing on the flames as hard as I could to put them out. Probably not the smartest move, but eventually it all went out and I haven't touched the grill since.

We had a small extinguisher in the kitchen too, but I didn't think to grab it immediately. My first thought was get the grill away from the deck/house and try to control it from there.

Another time(same grill) my girl couldn't get it to light and foolishly shut the gas and closed the top back down. She asked me to light it so I go out, turn on the gas and open the top. Hit the igniters and my face nearly melted off. I ran inside asking if I still had my eyebrows and eyelashes. They were just singed hah.

Fires are cool though

[M_Six]

I had to use one once on a lawn mower. First mow of the season. Over the winter some mouse had built a nest on top of the engine but under the cowling. I'm mowing away and suddenly the engine starts to smoke badly and then run faster and faster. Finally it blew the cylinder. Big hole right through the side of it. The mower was in flames so I ran in and grabbed the extinguisher to put it out. My neighbor came over and was in stitches. He's laughing and saying, "Only you, Mark, only you."

Felled by a mouse.

The mower was less than a year old, so I cleaned it up nice and brought it back to the Home Depot where I bought it and told them it wouldn't start. The guy there yanks the cord, feels no resistance, and then checks out the motor. He finds the hole and like he had just made a significant discovery, he tells me, "There's your problem. There's a big hole in the cylinder." Then to my surprise he tells me to just go grab a new one and he'd send this one back under warranty. I grabbed my new mower and was gone before they changed their minds. The new mower had a vented cowling, unlike the older one. So Toro must have had other folks experience the same issue.

[NickyC]

With a grease fire, real men use water.

[M_Six]

Originally Posted by NickyC

With a grease fire, real men use water.

Only once, though.

[Mr Tonka]

We have to get our extinguishers checked yearly by someone certified in our business locations.

I have one in the garage. 5 to 15 years is the expected life span apparently.

[deeLow]

Originally Posted by NickyC

With a grease fire, real men use water.

That was my next move, but hey better than lighting the house up